JS8Call: Leave a Message!

Hello Operators
I hear a lot of comparisons between psk and js8 these days. If you’ve been around the channel for a while you know that I love psk31 and psk 63. Even so, psk is limited in the types of interactions it can make between operators. With psk if the operator isn’t there, there’s no chance to leave a message, which which means they will never receive or have a chance to view what you sent. So either the operator is there, and able to have a qso, or they are not which means all bets are off.

A few operators have mentioned how they prefer psk over JS8. There is one thing you can do with JS8, that you can’t do with psk. Quite simply, you can leave a message. There are a few different reasons why you might want to leave a message.

The operator is busy with another qso

Perhaps the operator is inactive or not at the keyboard.

Perhaps they simply aren’t answering for whatever reason.

So you might not be able to have a near real-time qso with that operator, but that doesn’t mean the possibilities are all busted with JS8. If you don’t get a response to your keyboard to keyboard QSO request, leave that operator a directed message with an ACK or REPLY request. This way that operator knows that you’re trying to contact them, they know what it’s about, and they can get back to you, provided your rig is on and listening.
The biggest problem we have with JS8, is operators trying to use it like psk or ft8. Certainly this near-real-time keyboard to keyboard QSO is possible and fun with JS8Call, but we must remember it’s not the only way to interact with other operators using This Magnificent mode.
So let’s not blame the mode, when we ourselves aren’t using all of its features.
“Just leave a message”